Mumbai Meri Jaan - Nishikanth Kamath

I cried. I admit it. Nishikant Kamath has done a brilliant job in wetting my eyes. His debut in Hindi cinema, after his first film Dombivali Fast (Marathi) is beyond commendable. It’s similar to the storytelling format of Crash, wherein one strand of 7/11 serial train bomb blasts incident joins many stories and people. It is a film that I would suggest everyone to watch in the theatres.

Firstly hats off to the casting director, an admirable move in taking Paresh Rawal, Soha Ali khan, R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon and last but not the least Irrfan Khan!!! They have done one of the most inspiring acts of the year 2008. They portray the emotional journey of five different people from different walks of life – a retiring police constable who has achieved nothing in 35 years, ace reporter who loses her fiancé in the blasts, a patriotic IT guy who witnesses the bomb blasts, unemployed guy who is cynical towards the minority and lastly a poor coffee vendor who doesn't have acceptance in class driven society. The film is not about terrorism per se nor is it didactic. The film is about how these individual characters fight their inner fears and go through a transformation.

Technically the film seemed almost flawless to me. The script has unadultered mix of emotions; it makes u feel pain without stretching it. And even the humour is in the right amount satirical. Paresh Rawal has one the best lines and he mouths the Bambaiya hindi with panache. Liners like Roopali bani Rudali and Runa aaye toh pesab kar leney ka make you want to whistle in your seats. The script seems a little loose in the beginning, but it slowly catches grip. The editing is crisp. The photography captures the city and emotions with apt use of wide angles and close ups. The DOP has fully given justice to the varying moods of the city with the use of colours, lights, silhouettes and reflections. The sound of the film is mixed to make you feel the right emotion at the right moment. The jarring sound of the bomb blast, background score and use of silence all are in balanced and creative amount.

Scenes that had me jump of my seat were:
1. The blast scene executed superbly by the SFX team.
2. Soha Ali aka Roopali Joshi having go through the insensitive face of media where she has to give a byte to her channel about her situation. And also her emotional breakdown at the morgue.
3. Most of Paresh RawaL scenes, especially the chain reaction explanation of Hindu Muslim rift to Kay Kay menon aka Suresh and his retirement speech.
4. And Irrfan Khan in the mall scene, where his family and he try perfume much to the dislike of the staff and Bomb Hoax scene. He is awe-inspiring even with minimalistic dialogues.
5. The trauma that Madhavan goes through in his real and virtual world is impactful with scenes like Gas blast and hesitation in travelling by train.
6. The scene that will really make you stand along with the reel protagnists is the two minute silence scene, which makes it a perfectly sketched end.

This is to the spirit of my Maximum city – Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan...